7 cities with taxis and subway cars only for women

Reuters
From groping to catcalling to being followed home, women face all kinds of harassment on their daily commute. It's a global epidemic.

This year, researchers from Cornell University and Hollaback!, an organization that works to end street harassment, surveyed 16,607 women from 22 different countries, making it the largest analysis of its kind to date.

In the US, more than half of the respondents experienced sexual harassment in a city during the past year, and 30% on public transit.

As a temporary solution, women-only taxis and subways are popping up in cities around the world. While women shouldn't need special transport to avoid harassers, at least they can have peace of mind.

City buses in Damanhour, Egypt.

Last week, the Egyptian city Damanhour designated six out of 66 city buses for women only. One is for women with disabilities.

The local government acted after complaints from women who had trouble using public transportation because men would push them, especially during rush hour.

"Women were often physically unable to reach the bus doors due to men pushing their way onto the buses," the city's governor Wahdan El-Sayed told Ahram Online.

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SheRides in New York City.

She Rides

SheRides is the one female-only transit option in the US, and operates in a city where less than 1% of taxi drivers are women. Similar to Uber, SheRides is an iOS app that allows women to order a ride with a female driver. Women can easily spot the vehicles from the giant, pink strip on the front bumper.

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SheTaxi in Kerala, India.

SheTaxi

She-Taxi, similar to NYC's SheRides, is India's first 24/7 women-only cab service. More than 50,000 women have used it since its launch last year. The creators of She-Taxi say they will launch "She-Bus" within the next few years.

Pink Taxi in Cairo.

The new all-female service Pink Taxi helps make them feel safe. Each car is equipped with internal microphones and cameras.

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Select subways in Tokyo.

Women in Tokyo file into the women-only subways.

In 2005, more than half of women in Tokyo reported groping on the train at some point, a percentage that tripled since 1996. After these reports, the government introduced nine special train cars for female commuters during rush hour. The cars are now also available in neighboring city, Osaka.

"You feel safer because you know you won't be molested," a 19-year-old student told a local newspaper.